Reflections: WTA Tour Doubles Besties End Year As The Best

After defeating Vania King and Yaroslava Shvedova 6-4, 6-4 to advance to the year-end finals, top seeds Gisela Dulko and Flavia Pennetta are one stop closer to capping off an extremely memorable year for the two.

But no matter what Sunday’s result is, Dulko and Pennetta will finish the season as the WTA’s number 1-ranked doubles team.

“It’s incredible. We never thought we could achieve this when we started playing together. We’ve had a great year, winning tournaments and so many matches in order to become the best doubles team in the world. Being the No.1 team is especially great since it is something we can share together,” they said.

What many people don’t know, is that between the two, they already have a career Grand Slam in Doubles – in juniors. Dulko won the US Open (2000), Wimbledon (2001) and Australian Open (2002), while Pennetta won the French Open (1999).

Neither of the two have ever played in the year-end Championships in their career. They’ll play Peschke and Srebotnik, whom they have beaten in all three of their meetings this year, including in the Stuttgart and Montreal finals.

What’s most admirable about these two ladies is the friendship they have. The two even share an account on Twitter – @FlaviGise. For a sport where the women are sadly often overlooked, and doubles (for men AND women) overlooked even more, I hope that their attitudes and commitment motivate even more women to get on court and play – with their best friends.